Largest Yoga Event: Netherlands Hosts Third International Day of Yoga

Thousands participate in largest yoga event held in Netherlands. Twitter

Netherlands, June 20, 2017: The largest ever yoga event in the Netherlands was held here with the participation of nearly 1,000 people on Sunday to mark the Third International Day of Yoga.

The event was organized by the Indian Embassy with the support of The Hague City Council in the Atrium of the City Hall, an iconic building, often referred to as the Ice Palace.

Welcoming the gathering, Venu Rajamony, India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, described yoga as India’s gift to mankind.

He also told the gathering about the upcoming visit to the Netherlands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took the initiative to celebrate the International Day of Yoga three years ago.

The event’s chief guest, Rabin Baldewsingh, Deputy Mayor of The Hague, spoke of the vibrant connection between India and the Netherlands. He sought the Ambassador’s leadership in linking the Indian and the Surinami-Hindustani communities in the Netherlands.

Participants in the group yoga session included cricketer Suresh Raina, Joris Geeven from the Netherlands Foreign Ministry, Miss India Holland 2017 Preety Dhillon, Dutch nationals and members of the Suriname-Hindustani as well as Indian communities.

The event was organized in association with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, India Tourism Amsterdam, Art of Living Foundation, ISHA Foundation, and Jet Airways.

The event was led by Amit Khanna, a yoga expert at The Gandhi Centre in The Hague, which is the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy, Shikha Khanna, a yoga expert from the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New Delhi, Madeleine Gaastra from the Art of Living and Farooq Abdul Khader, a local yoga teacher. (IANS)

The report also highlighted that India uses the largest amount of groundwater -- 24 per cent of the global total and the country is the third largest exporter of groundwater -- 12 per cent of the global total.

Global groundwater depletion - where the amount of water taken from aquifers exceeds the amount that is restored naturally - increased by 22 per cent between 2000 and 2010, said the report, adding that India's rate of groundwater depletion increased by 23 per cent during the same period. Pixabay

As many as one billion people in India live in areas of physical water scarcity, of which 600 million are in areas of high to extreme water stress, according to a new report.

Globally, close to four billion people live in water-scarce areas, where, for at least part of the year, demand exceeds supply, said the report by non-profit organisation WaterAid.

This number is expected to go up to five billion by 2050, said the report titled “Beneath the Surface: The State of the World’s Water 2019”, released to mark World Water Day on March 22.

Pure water droplet. Pixabay

Physical water scarcity is getting worse, exacerbated by growing demand on water resources and and by climate and population changes.

By 2040 it is predicted that 33 countries are likely to face extremely high water stress – including 15 in the Middle East, most of Northern Africa, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Spain. Many – including India, China, Southern Africa, USA and Australia – will face high water stress.

Globally, close to four billion people live in water-scarce areas, where, for at least part of the year, demand exceeds supply, said the report by non-profit organisation WaterAid. Pixabay

Global groundwater depletion – where the amount of water taken from aquifers exceeds the amount that is restored naturally – increased by 22 per cent between 2000 and 2010, said the report, adding that India’s rate of groundwater depletion increased by 23 per cent during the same period.

The report also highlighted that India uses the largest amount of groundwater — 24 per cent of the global total and the country is the third largest exporter of groundwater — 12 per cent of the global total.

The WaterAid report warned that food and clothing imported by wealthy Western countries are making it harder for many poor and marginalised communities to get a daily clean water supply as high-income countries buy products with considerable “water footprints” – the amount of water used in production — from water-scarce countries. (IANS)